Idoit40fans wrote:Why not Bennett? I'm not saying he is a better option, but he is definitely another option.

Far as I know general consensus is that Bennett needs at least another year to crack the NHL, but is certainly headed in that direction. Tangradi is older and more experienced though it could be argued that injuries and restricted minutes in an unfamiliar role have hampered his progression in the NHL. Unlike Bennett, ET seems to have been in a perpetual 'now or never' position since his arrival.

The general consensus on Tangradi is that he's an AHL lifer, so for the sake of this conversation, I think we're ignoring general consensus.

RisslingsMissingTeeth wrote:Man does it drive me crazy when people compare Tangradi to Guerin. Guerin's brain (positional play, antagonizing behavior), was genius. There is a reason why he was so successful. Guerin's last season, I used to watch him in isolation and was blown away by his inherent instincts to know where the pass needed to go and where he needed to be to get the pass.

RisslingsMissingTeeth wrote:Man does it drive me crazy when people compare Tangradi to Guerin. Guerin's brain (positional play, antagonizing behavior), was genius. There is a reason why he was so successful. Guerin's last season, I used to watch him in isolation and was blown away by his inherent instincts to know where the pass needed to go and where he needed to be to get the pass.

Idoit40fans wrote:Why not Bennett? I'm not saying he is a better option, but he is definitely another option.

Far as I know general consensus is that Bennett needs at least another year to crack the NHL, but is certainly headed in that direction. Tangradi is older and more experienced though it could be argued that injuries and restricted minutes in an unfamiliar role have hampered his progression in the NHL. Unlike Bennett, ET seems to have been in a perpetual 'now or never' position since his arrival.

The general consensus on Tangradi is that he's an AHL lifer, so for the sake of this conversation, I think we're ignoring general consensus.

I don't believe general consensus has been reached on ET. He certainly wasn't considered an AHL lifer when acquired but his failure to live up to expectations = bust in some eyes. Others see him as the most viable option presently available and are optimistic that he can contribute. If Mikey is correct (and I'm not questioning), Pens management are in the latter group, so for the sake of this conversation I'll keep an open mind.

RisslingsMissingTeeth wrote:In the highlights I saw, he looked really slow even at the AHL level. Other guys (Thompson?) looked way more impressive. Don't know though, I am not a scout.

Came here to quote myself like most jerks do when they want to show everyone how smart they were.

Nice hat trick Paul Thompson! Plays RW, hmmm....

Thompson is also having a nice start to the season. Nice natural hatty yesterday... Looks like he is starting to translate his NCAA success to the AHL level. I still want to see what Jayson Megna can do in the regular season. Kid had a real nice pre-season before injury...

Thread in NPR (strange place for it) about Paul Thompson where I commented on his strengths/weaknesses, feel free to comment or shift the conversation over...I'm not sure if there are any mods around to do it...

Whatever the case, it's him, Kennedy, Cooke or Jeffrey on Crosby's wing with Dupuis. Thinking it's Kennedy's spot to lose in Camp, and Cooke and Glass with Sutter will round out the 3rd line. That leaves tangradi in WBS or on the 4th line which isn't necessarily a bad thing unless he wows everyone at camp and earns a shot with Sid or Geno.

DelPen wrote:Whatever the case, it's him, Kennedy, Cooke or Jeffrey on Crosby's wing with Dupuis. Thinking it's Kennedy's spot to lose in Camp, and Cooke and Glass with Sutter will round out the 3rd line. That leaves tangradi in WBS or on the 4th line which isn't necessarily a bad thing unless he wows everyone at camp and earns a shot with Sid or Geno.

Organization is aware of Kennedy's limitations. Can't be him. Cooke doesn't shoot right-handed and he's not enough of a sniper (or offensive threat in general) to effectively utilize his off-wing shot. Never grew up having to learn the off-wing game and the adjustments needed. Meaningful disadvantages along the boards as a result.

So will the wbs guys take part in Penguins camp (when it happens)? I imagine Tangradi will make the team.

As far as the above conversation, with Sutter replacing Staal, the makeup of the 3rd is now up in the air. Kennedy and Cooke are no longer locks. I'm sure they'll get first shot, but if they don't have the right chemistry with Sutter, there are plenty of other options. Of course, figuring out who plays with Malkin-Neal will be the first priority...

pcm wrote:As far as the above conversation, with Sutter replacing Staal, the makeup of the 3rd is now up in the air. Kennedy and Cooke are no longer locks. I'm sure they'll get first shot, but if they don't have the right chemistry with Sutter, there are plenty of other options.

there is one other option - and his name is dustin jefferey...who was last seen struggling to stay in the NHL

so to summarize, there are actually no other options. cooke-sutter-kennedy is an exceptional 3rd line, anyways.

pcm wrote:As far as the above conversation, with Sutter replacing Staal, the makeup of the 3rd is now up in the air. Kennedy and Cooke are no longer locks. I'm sure they'll get first shot, but if they don't have the right chemistry with Sutter, there are plenty of other options.

there is one other option - and his name is dustin jefferey...who was last seen struggling to stay in the NHL

so to summarize, there are actually no other options. cooke-sutter-kennedy is an exceptional 3rd line, anyways.

But then do you put Jeffrey with Malkin-Neal or Crosby-Dupuis? One of them is getting Kunitz.

He's tied for 35th in scoring in the Austrian league with 16 points in 9 games

Do not speak ill of DJ.

Jeffrey struggled last year with the injury, but he has better skills for the NHL than Tangradi does. Not sure that he will ever be a consistent player at this level, but he at least looked like on before the knee injury. Jury's still out on whether he can get back to even that level though, and he needs to improve on that to really stick.

Tangradi has never achieved even that mediocre success at this level though.

Meh, different skillset. Jeffrey is similair to Dupuis, a bit slower. But what got everyone excited 2 years ago was that scoring instinct he showed no matter who he was on the ice with. That's the kind of thing that makes an NHL'er. He's probably got a higher top end than Dupuis, but Dupuis' been exceeding expectations for years now...

Tangradi is a lesser Ryan Malone. He's got skills, the question has been the ethic and consistency to succeed in the type of role he's made for.

This season will be huge for both of them. They'll both get shots for that top 6 slot, but they're different players, and so I think their relative success will be measured more on the needs of the team and their personal will to fulfill that than their raw skill set.

For instance, I could see Jeffrey supplanting Kennedy on the depth chart this season, and Dupuis next season. Tangradi on the other hand I could see winning Kunitz's spot with Malkin_Neal (Kunitz to play with Sid) because he fits the needs of that line best.